>
> >I don't know where I said there were arboreal fish. But actually, there
> >is the climbing perch in SE Asia, Anabas testudineus, which probably
> >clambers around some tree roots while its goes from pond to pond.
>
> Here is what you said: " But it doesn't matter much. If it wasn't
> ichthyostega, it was something similar, perhaps a smaller arboreal
version."
>
> I don't know what it means.
>
Assuming that Cliff did not mean to say something else and accidentally wrote
"arboreal", he may be referring to the depiction of ichthyostega as
clamboring around on the bottom of a mangrove swamp, crawling over roots and
submerged branches, instead of actively swimming. Since ichthyostega was
somewhat large (one meter I believe) Cliff may be speculating about a smaller
species that lived amongst the root boles themselves.
>
> Sounds like you're theorizing. Anyway, my
> >point is just that there are other possible models which explain the
> >cited fossils. If you can suggest a transition from A to B, I can suggest
> >that A and B are sister species whose similarity is a result of their
> >having a common ancestor.
>
> Once again, so what? This is what all evolutionists believe. You are not
> saying something that is a big revelation or a big undercutting of
> evolutinary theory. And sure, you can postulate that leprechauns gave rise
> to the amphibians, but you can't produce a single fossil to back up that
> contention. The way science works is that there must be some observational
> support for the hypothesis. Willy-nilly ideas which are unsupported aren't
> worth talking about.
>
There is a way his idea can be tested, however. If the hypothesized
evolutionary sequence is A to B to C, then there should be morphological
features unique to A and C, respectively. If B were simply a sister species
of A, it should have some of A's unique features, but it would have none of
C's. If, however, it has some of A's unique features and some of C's unique
features, plus its own unique features that neither A nor C have, then B
would be transitional.
Kevin L. O'Brien